Citizen Announces A New Collab: TSUYOSA x seconde/ seconde/ (With Live Photos)

In a world where it seems increasingly difficult to find the words “affordable,” “wristwatch,” and “interesting” in the same sentence, may I present for your consideration a collaboration between Citizen and that horological gadfly, seconde/seconde/, known to his friends as Romaric André, hom we interviewed in April of last year  when we looked at his life, career, and history of creating modifications of watches which undermine the perceived sanctity of the vintage watch as an inviolate object. His modifications have led watch brands to develop collaborations with him, and some of his partners in the past have included Bamford, Timex, Yema, and Frédérique Constant, among many others. Today, Citizen has announced a new partnership with André: the TSUYOSA x seconde/seconde/ collaboration model, with the motto, “Being smaller has never stopped minutes from slicing hours into pieces.”

According to Citizen, “tsuyosa” means power, or strength, in Japanese, and the watch plays with the idea of the minutes as an underdog against the longer hours, with the action embodied by a katana-shaped minute hand sweeping around the dial, which appears to be severing the hour markers as it passes. The katana is in the form of a pixelated sword, which is a motif André has used before in his series of mods, although not in the shape of the katana. (It’s true that the katana is curved, but in this case a concession to legibility was made by keeping the sword straight).

Physically, the watch is identical to other TSUYOSA models in physical dimensions, at 40mm x 11.7mm, and it’s powered by the Citizen caliber 8210 – automatic, running at 21,600 vph in 21 jewels. The watch is being offered on an integrated three link bracelet with folding clasp. Thanks to the eye-catching dial it wears a little larger than you might think from the numbers but in this case, the visual impact is a deliberate effect and in keeping with the generally colorful designs found in the TSUYOSA collection.

The cut markers effect is really striking. Each marker is divided, more or less, in half, with the lower half displaced slightly clockwise relative to the upper. There’s a lighter blue incision-like mark on the dial and the markers really do look as if they have been caught in the act of falling apart as the tip of the sword, which is styled like something from a vintage 8-bit video game, passes by. (Those of you familiar with the game might think of Minecraft when you see the sword as well).

The caseback is decorated with a stamped black half-circle, with the motto of the collaboration in white, and the lower case-styled signature of seconde/seconde/.

The watch is a limited edition of 3600 pieces, which is also a nod to the overall motif; there are 3600 seconds in an hour.

I think Citizen’s done a great job with this one – and André of course, whose iconography can really transform the visual identity of a watch while somehow remaining true to its core functionality, or, as in this case, actually providing a wry commentary on the purpose of a watch and the role of time in daily life. At just $495, it’s also something that’s becoming a rare event in the watch world: a great value proposition, although of course, that’s not a rare event for Citizen, but rather, their stock-in-trade.

The Citizen TSUYOSA x seconde/seconde/: case, stainless steel on a stainless steel three link bracelet with folding clasp; sapphire crystal, with pixelated-sword minute hand and severed hour markers; 40mm x 11.7mm with 50M water resistance; sunburst blue dial with luminous markers and hour hand (no lume on the sword). Movement, Citizen automatic 8210, running at 21,800 vph with 42 hour power reserve. Collab motto on the sapphire caseback. To find out more, visit Citizenwatch.com.